Something New
by dream0utloud27
Summary: New town, new school, new life. Now, repeat that multiple times over multiple years. Life just won't give Gabriella a break, so she'll try to blend in with the mix once again. However, East High won't allow that to happen. TXG
1. Chapter 1

Something New

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or anything else.

Chapter 1

Moving to a new school is always hard for anyone. You have to learn a new schedule, a new school, and find new friends. Don't forget about getting acclimated to a new town, a new house, and a whole new life. For some people, moving is the absolute worst thing in the world. However, for Gabriella Montez, it was just something that happened much too often. But just because it happened much too often didn't help make it any better. Over time she learned that relationships and friendships didn't really matter because she would be moving soon again anyway. That's exactly what Gabriella was thinking when she pulled up in front of the new house that she was supposed to call home.

"Mija, what's wrong? I thought that you were excited to move to Albuquerque! We're only an hour or so away from Abuelo and Abuela's house, remember." Maria studied her daughter's sour face for only a second more, then opened the door of their mid-sized SUV and proceeded to the front door of their new house.

Gabriella's stomach was churning. She didn't want to have to do this all over again. Because of Maria's job, they had moved seven times in the last five years, which didn't allow Gabriella to settle into a place for very long. She really liked her old school in Pittsburgh and finally thought that maybe she would be able to stay long enough to finish high school there, but like always for some reason her mother was always needed at another branch in her corporation. Maria knew how much it hurt Gabriella to move so often, but she had no choice about the moving situations. It was just the way that things always worked out.

Gabriella stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk. Everything in Albuquerque was so different from the life that she had left back in Pittsburgh. The sidewalks were neatly paved. The houses along her street weren't too close, but they were close enough for families to mingle. From the outside, the house was very charming; someplace where Gabriella could see herself and her mother living. She continued up to the front door and twisted the handle, allowing herself inside her new residence.

"Mija, come into the kitchen. Look how wonderful this!" Maria exclaimed. "I mean, the kitchen in Miami was very nice, but this is fabulous! I can't wait to cook in here!"

Gabriella giggled at her mother's excitement as she walked into the kitchen. "Wow, this is really nice." Gabriella said, trying to make her mother happy.

"This house is just great. I feel like we're going to be here for a while."

And Gabriella could only hope that would happen.

After Maria stopped marveling over the kitchen, the moving truck finally came and the movers helped bring all of the Montez's items inside. Maria put away all of the pots and pans, still marveling over the fantastic kitchen that she had just acquired.

Meanwhile, Gabriella made her way up to her new bedroom with boxes marked "Gabriella's Room". The movers had already placed her bed, cabinets, desk, and bookshelf in the room. The room was fairly large and was painted a pretty shade of purple. Purple was Gabriella's favorite color and she was happy that the room was a nice color, meaning that she wouldn't have to paint it. Gabriella also had her own bathroom which was only accessable from inside her room, which didn't really impact her because she was so used to sharing with her mother and her mother only. The best part of the bedroom was the balcony that looked out over yard. There was a large tree parallel to the balcony, which provided shade for it in the hottest parts of the day, according to Gabriella's mother.

Slowly, she began to place all of her clothes in the drawers. Putting her clothes away in a new room was something that Gabriella found herself doing much too often. It was nice to move things around once in a while though.

Once she finished putting her clothes away Gabriella moved to the next most important part of her room; her bookshelf. Gabriella had always been the quiet type who would rather sit in the corner and read rather than socialize with her peers. It wasn't that she wasn't a friendly person, it was just that she would rather spend time doing something that she loved. It also didn't help that she didn't have many friends and trying to keep up with a relationship that she knew would only last for a few months wasn't even worth it.

It was around seven when Gabriella finished putting together her new room. Her stomach began to growl, so she decided to head downstairs to see what her mother planned on doing for dinner.

"Hey Mija." Maria said as she placed a picture of Gabriella on the mantle of the fireplace. The living room was almost fully put together, although there were still a few stacks of boxes in the corner of the room.

"Wow, this looks great!" Gabriella exclaimed as her eyes wandered around the room. "I really like this house.

Maria took a deep breath and sat down on the couch. "I didn't think that I'd be able to put a living room together so quickly, but I guess I was wrong!" Gabriella giggled, but Maria knew that something was just wasn't right with her daughter. "Gabi, how about we head out for some dinner? I'm sure that we'll be able to find something quickly."

Gabriella hesitated for a moment before answering. "Sure, but I'm kinda tired. Do you think we could just get it to go? I want to get a good night's sleep before school tomorrow."

Maria signaled for Gabriella to take a seat next to her. "That's it, that's what's bothering you right? I know that you hate starting new in a new school, but at least this time everyone will be starting new with you."

"No, I'm really okay. I just want to get a good rest tonight." Gabriella lied. She didn't want to go to school tomorrow at all. She had looked on the website for her new high school, East High, and was a little concerned. The school had tons of spirit, phenomenal sports teams, an amazing drama department, and a very challenging honors program. However, those weren't the things that she was concerned about. The school was very small, which meant that everyone knew everyone and they would all know who the new girl was when she came. Being the new girl at a large school wasn't hard at all, because most people didn't know who was actually in their grade and who wasn't. East High was going to be a different story.

"Gabi," Maria spoke softly as she grabbed her daughter's hand, "you are the smartest and friendliest girl that I know. You're going to have no problem at this school, and after this year you're going to be going away to college and everything will be okay."

Gabriella looked into her mother's eyes. "I hope so." She replied as she took her hand away from her mother's hold and started back upstairs.

Hey guys! I hope you like the story so far. I really want to know what you think or what you want to happen with the story. I'm not exactly sure if it's going to be a series or what, but it's not going to be a single story! Thanks for reading; please reviewww!

~Meg


	2. Chapter 2

Something New

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or anything else.

Chapter 2

Gabriella woke up to the sound of her alarm clock buzzing. She stretched and rubbed her eyes, forgetting for a moment what she was exactly going to have to do today. It was September 7, 2011; the start of a new day, more specifically, a new school year. She knew that her mother would be still be unloading boxes and setting up the house for the whole day because she didn't officially start her job at the new location until Monday. Gabriella wished that she could just stay home and set up the house, but that would never happen.

Gabriella walked over to her newly organized closet and pulled out a silky navy blue skirt, a white cami, and a black ¾ sleeve sweater. She planned to wear her hair down in natural waves. It was a simple outfit, but it was just enough for Gabriella. She looked out of the large French doors which opened up to her balcony. The large tree that was situated right next to the balcony ledge had a birds nest in one of higher branches. The mother bird had just flown into the nest and was being bothered by her little ones. Gabriella never had to share her mother with anyone, her being an only child.

"Mija, do you want some breakfast?" Maria yelled from downstairs. Gabriella snapped out of her daydream, slipped into her black flats, grabbed her bookbag, and went downstairs to greet her mother.

"Sure, it smells great!" Gabriella commented as she took a seat down at the kitchen table. Maria had already poured her daughter a small cup of orange juice and was in the process of taking two pancakes off of the griddle.

"So, did you sleep well? Ready for the big day?" Maria questioned as she took a sip of coffee.

"Yeah, I slept great. I almost forgot that I actually had to do this today." Gabriella muttered as she played with her syrup-drenched pancakes.

"Gabriella, you're going to do fine. You've never had a problem before."

Gabriella sighed. "Yeah, I know. It just doesn't make it any easier."

"Oh, Mija." Maria said as she got up and wrapped her arms around her daughter. "This is the last move, I promise."

"Promise is a big word." Gabriella looked up at her mom. "I'm going to walk to school today, but you can pick me up afterwards okay?" She forced a smile as she picked up her bookbag and left the house.

East High was probably only about 15 minutes away by foot. Gabriella arrived at school with only a few students already there. She presumed that she was probably around 30 minutes early, leaving her time to get her schedule and map from the main office, and then time leftover to roam the school. East High was a beautiful school. The walls were painted a fresh shade of white with red accents throughout. The lockers were slightly bigger than Gabriella's previous locker at her old school in Pittsburgh.

Gabriella found herself walking in what she thought was the athletic wing of the school. There were trophy cases filled with different kinds of awards and pictures. Apparently, the boy's basketball team won the state championships the year before, according to one of the pictures. She noticed that one of the boys in the picture had the most beautiful blue eyes.

"Excuse me, are you looking for something?" A masculine voice said behind her.

Gabriella turned around, expecting to see a student. However, it was just a curious teacher.

"Oh no, sorry." She said as went to gather her books and walk away.

She didn't know where to go, or what to do. Usually before school started, Gabriella would take refuge in the library. However, she couldn't do that because she had no idea where the library was. She was about to sit down against the lockers and call her mom, when the bell finally rang. Gabriella made her way to her first block class, AP English.

When Gabriella made it to the classroom, which wasn't too far away from where she was before, she peeked her head inside. Thankfully, there were no other students in the classroom yet, allowing Gabriella to take a seat towards the middle of the room and right next to the windows. Soon after taking her place, many other students began filing in the room. Everyone looked like they had someone to talk to, leaving Gabriella sitting awkwardly looking out of the window.

The second bell rang and the teacher, Mrs. Langoli shut the classroom door. "Welcome to AP English." She began before being interrupted by a knock on the door. A tall, athletic looking boy strolled into the classroom.

"Sorry Mrs. L, Chad—" he tried to spit out before she interrupted him.

"Mr. Bolton, late to class on the first day of school are we? I'm sure that this won't happen again, correct?"

"Correct."

"Now Mr. Bolton, please take a seat. I'd like to continue class now, if that's okay with you."

The only seat open in the classroom happened to be right in front of Gabriella. The boy looked at her, realizing that she was an unfamiliar face, before sitting down in his seat. Gabriella looked at him for a moment, feeling like she had seen him before.

"In this class, we will be reading numerous novels, studying the English language, writing essays, and of course, preparing you for the AP English test. I hope that all of you will feel prepared enough when the time comes to take it. Since it is the first day and the novel we will be reading first has not come in yet, I have a little partner activity for you to do. It is due at the end of the block."

Gabriella took a deep breath and looked around. Everyone was already eying up who their partner was going to be.

"Before you go ahead and pick your partner, I need to take attendance." Mrs. Landoli stated. "Alright, Landon Barber."

A boy with glasses raised his hand before continuing to doodle on his notebook.

"Aaah, look here. Troy Bolton."

The boy who sat down in front of him raised his hand as all of the other students looked at him and snickered quietly. Gabriella looked around, trying to understand why everyone thought that it was so funny that this Troy was in this class. She heard a voice from behind her say, "How did Bolton get into this class?

Why was everyone so surprised that Troy was in the class? He looked nice enough, and he looked like he had the capability to be smart.

"Gabriella Montez"

Gabriella's hand shot up. All eyes turned onto her. She shrunk down in her seat, hoping that if she kept shrinking down she would magically disappear.

Finally, attendance was over and it was time for everyone to pick their partners. Gabriella felt as if she was going to throw up. She had to get out of the classroom. She picked up her bookbag and walked to the front of the room.

"May I go to the bathroom please?"

Mrs. Landolfi looked up from her desk and sensed that something was bothering Gabriella.

"Are you feeling okay Gabriella?"

Gabriella didn't know what to say. "Uh, I don't know." was all that came out of her mouth.

Mrs. Landolfi wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Gabriella. She nodded, signaling that it was alright for Gabriella to leave the classroom. Gabriella, thankful for having an understanding teacher in the morning, showed a small smile, then made her way out of the classroom.

She took out her school map and headed towards the closest bathroom. Gabriella went inside, found a stall farthest from the door, put the seat cover down and sat down on the seat. She pulled out her cell phone and called her mom.

"_Hello?"_ Maria answered.

"Mom, I can't do this again." Gabriella said as her voice began to quiver.

"_Mija, you said that you were going to be alright. I can't come and pick you up right now. You're going to be fine."_

"But you don't understand, this school is different from all of the rest."

"_Maybe that's a good thing."_

"They all know each other, they know everything about one another. I'm just the odd one out."

"_It won't stay that way for long Gabriella. Listen, I have to go now. Try to have fun, okay?"_

Small sobs started to come up from Gabriella's throat. "I'll try."

"_Mija, don't cry. It's going to be okay. I love you."_

"I love you too."

And then the one thing that was familiar to Gabriella was gone. She laid her head against the wall of the stall and let it all go. She was hysterical crying in a few minutes time. Gabriella had no clue how long she had been crying until the bell finally rang. She opened up her schedule and was relieved to see that she had free period next block. She had nowhere to and no one was expecting her anywhere. Just when she decided that she would just stay in the bathroom until she had to go to Physics, someone entered the bathroom. Gabriella gasped, hoping that the person wouldn't go into the stall next to her.

"Gabriella?" The voice said as they knocked on various stalls.

Gabriella had no idea what to do. Was Mrs. Landolfi looking for her? Finally, she decided to leave the stall and see who was looking for her. She unlocked the door and walked out of the stall.

A dark-skinned girl dressed in very professional clothes looked up and smiled at her. "Hi, I'm Taylor McKessie. I'm in your AP English class and Mrs. Landolfi just wanted me to make sure that you're okay. I'm president of our class, and I'm also president of our academic decathlon team. Anyway, I just wanted to welcome you to East High."

Once again, Gabriella didn't know what to say.

"Do you want to come to the library with me?"

Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief. "Sure, I'd like that." She said.

Once seated at a table in the library, Taylor took out her schedule and placed it on the table. "Here, let me see your schedule. Maybe we have some classes together."

Gabriella retrieved her schedule from her book bag and handed it over to Taylor.

"Alright, we have lunch, calc, and chem together. That's good!"

"But not physics, gym, or drama studies."

Taylor's eyes widened. "You have drama studies?"

"That's what it says."

"Darbus teaches drama studies. She's…interesting. I'm sure that Ryan and Sharpay are in that class too."

Gabriella turned her head in thought. "Were they the siblings in english?"

Taylor laughed. "You betcha. They live, eat, sleep, and think drama. But seriously, enough about school. Tell me about you!"

Gabriella giggled a little. "Well, I've gone to eight different schools in the last five years."

Taylor's mouth dropped open. "You've got to be kidding me. That's terrible."

"It usually isn't too bad. I lived in Pittsburgh before here, and then Miami before that."

"Why do you move so much, if you don't mind me asking."

"My mom's job. She is always getting relocated to other branches."

"I couldn't ever imagine having to move that much. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Gabriella hated talking about her family. "Nope. But enough about me." She looked out the window and noticed three or four boys playing basketball. "Who is Troy Bolton?"

Taylor couldn't subdue the laugh that erupted from her mouth. "Troy Bolton?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yes, Troy Bolton. Why was everyone making fun of him during English?"

"Listen Gabriella, people like Troy don't belong in our AP classes."

"Why not?"

"Well, let's just say that school isn't the most important thing to him. He wasn't in any serious classes last year. No one is quite sure as to why he decided to step up his academics during senior year."

"He seems nice." Gabriella said quietly, hoping that Taylor wouldn't hear her.

"That's what all innocent girls think." Just then, the bell rang. Taylor wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Gabriella. "This is my cell phone number. Just text me if you need something, alright?" Taylor hugged her and gave her a small hand squeeze.

"Thanks Taylor. I really mean it."

Gabriella made her way to physics, hoping that it would go by quickly. Even though East High was fairly small, finding the physics room happened to feel like an impossible feat. The second bell rang and Gabriella still was not close to the physics room. She pulled out her map and tried to figure out where she was when a suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Lost?"

Gabriella turned around. It was none other than Troy Bolton talking to her. She held onto her bag a little tighter. "Uh, yeah actually."

He smiled a little. "So, what class are you looking for?"

"AP Physics."

Troy laughed. "No way! That's where I'm going too. Follow me."

Gabriella couldn't believe what was happening. The boy with the blue eyes that she had been staring at in the basketball picture was taking her to physics.

"Thank you." She said as they finally approached the physics room.

Troy turned to Gabriella and put his hand on her shoulder. "Now listen. Mr. Navaz hates when people are late. Just go up to him and tell him that you're new. He'll let it slide this time."

"But what about you?" Gabriella asked.

"Don't worry about me. Teachers just like to bust my chops. I'm used to it."

Gabriella nodded and allowed Troy to open the door for her.

Just like Troy said, Mr. Navaz was annoyed at the two late comers. "Well, who do we have here, arriving to my class late. Troy Bolton, I'm sure that your father will be quite pleased with this news."

Troy nodded his head, then nudged Gabriella side, motioning for her to go and talk to Mr. Navaz before he embarrassed her in front of the whole class.

"I'm sorry for my tardiness." Gabriella said as she approached the teacher's desk. "Today is my first day and I got lost. I asked Troy for directions, that's why he was late. It wasn't his fault."

Mr. Navaz looked at Troy for second, who took a seat at an empty lab table, then back at Gabriella. "You seem trustworthy. I'll take your word for it, but don't make this a habit, Ms. Montez."

Gabriella nodded, then turned around. Everyone in the class was staring at her once again. The nausea fell over her body once again.

Troy noticed the panic in her eyes. He waved his hand, catching her attention, and motioned for her to come sit down next to him.

Gabriella smiled a little, and walked over the lab table. "Thanks." She said before taking another deep breath. Everything was going to be okay.

Yayyyy! What do you guys think? This chapter took longer than I had hoped to get out, but I wanted everything to be perfect. Please, please review!

~Meg


	3. Chapter 3

Something New

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or anything else.

Chapter 3

Physics went by quicker than the previous two had. Mr. Navaz lectured the whole block, not allowing for Troy and Gabriella to make conversation at all. As the bell rang and the class left the room, Troy stood outside the door and waited for Gabriella to exit. She had apologized to Mr. Navaz about being late and promised that it would never happen again.

"Hey" Troy said as he grabbed Gabriella's arm as she was leaving the room.

Gabriella jumped and pulled her arm back, shocked at the thought that someone was grabbing her in the hallway. However, once she realized who it was, she relaxed.

"Oh gosh Troy. Please don't do that."

Troy put his arms up, in a surrendering sort of manner. "Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to know what class you were headed to next."

Gabriella pulled out her schedule and sighed. "I have gym."

Troy snickered. "That's my second home, you know."

"A smelly, old gymnasium is your second home?" Gabriella teased as she put her schedule back in her bookbag.

A stern look came across Troy's face. "Do not insult my smelly, old gym." As soon as the stern look came across, it disappeared and a smile formed. "Well, since we both have gym next I guess I'll walk you there."

"Troy, you really don't have to do all of this for me."

Troy laughed and started walking, with Gabriella right by his side. "We have the same class next. You're new. It's no big deal, seriously."

"I'll just have you know that I'm not the most athletic person ever."

"Well then gym should be fun then."  
Gabriella giggled and they continued down the hallway.

"Gabriella, what was that all about before?" Taylor snickered as she placed her lunch bag on the cafeteria table. Gabriella, in mid chew, froze. She took a sip of her water bottle and continued eating. "I saw you walking towards the gym with Troy."

"He was just helping me find my way to the gym. I got lost going to physics and he took me there. We have that class together."

Taylor raised her eyebrows as she took her apple slices out of her lunch bag. "Gabriella, even though I've only known you for a few hours I know that you aren't one to fall for someone like Troy."

"Who said that I'm even falling for him?"

Taylor threw her arms up in defeat. "Alright, alright. I won't say anything else."

The rest of the day continued to get better and better as it went along. AP Calc with Taylor was going to be a fun class, especially because Gabriella was exceptionally talented in mathematics. AP Chemistry was a small class, composed of mostly girls and a few guys. The teacher, Mrs. Davis had once taught as a college professor and was very intelligent. The last class of the day, drama studies, was basically about Ms. Darbus preaching about the arts and how the musical productions this school year were going to be fantastic. Sharpay Evans also had to comment on how she was president of the drama club and expected everyone in the class to get involved with the musicals this year. Gabriella quietly laughed, knowing that she would never be involved in a musical of any sorts. She could barely stand in the front of a class without feeling like she was going to throw up or pass out.

Finally, the bell rang, signaling that the school day was over. Students rushed to their lockers, meeting their friends on the way. Gabriella looked at her phone. There was a new text from Taylor, saying "_Let's hang out this weekend. We'll talk more about it tomorrow morning—meet me in the library. It's not open for students, but I have my ways. ~Tay"_

Gabriella giggled, happy that she actually found a real friend on the first day. She sensed that her and Taylor were going to be the best of friends. She continued to her locker, put some books away and headed out the front door. She had texted her mom earlier telling her that she would just walk home because it was such a nice day.

Once she was across the street from East High, a loud revving of a truck came up right next to Gabriella. She let out a small scream, startled from the noise. She heard laughter from inside of the truck's cabin and looked over; it was none other than Troy Bolton.

"Are you trying to make me have a heart attack?"

"Not really. Do you want a ride home?"

Gabriella remembered what Taylor had been saying to her earlier and shook her head. "It's a beautiful day, I think I'll just walk, but thanks anyway."

Troy turned his truck off and got out of his truck. Gabriella's heart began to beat, not knowing what Troy was going to do. She'd gone to pretty sketchy schools before and was always expecting the worst to happen. Just when she was getting ready to run, Troy opened the passenger's door and signaled for her to get in.

"There's some storm clouds brewing overhead, unless you want to get stuck in a storm, I'd suggest that you just get a ride."

Gabriella stood there for a second considering her options, but then finally decided on getting in the truck. Troy closed her door for her then went back around and hopped in the front seat.

Gabriella turned to Troy and sighed. "Listen, you need to stop being so nice to me. There's no way that I'm going to be able to repay you."

"You don't have to repay me. By the way, where do you live?"

Everything that Gabriella had been told about not giving her address out flew out of her brain. She trusted Troy enough to not rob her house or do something stupid. " 34 Oak Street."

"No way! I live on 15 Maple Way, that's like only a few streets away." Troy went to start the old truck. It tried to rev, but started to hum, then went silent.

"Is it supposed to sound like that?" Gabriella asked jokingly.

Troy hit the steering wheel. "Shit." he muttered under his breath.

"What's wrong?"

"I forgot that my dad told me not to rev it excessivly because the replacement part would probably blow. The new part is supposed to come in soon."

Just then, the sound of thunder rolled in the sky above.

"Why don't we just walk then." Gabriella suggested. "If we leave now, we'll probably make it back before the bad stuff comes.

Shaking his head, Troy replied "No, I know how to start it again. I can't just leave my truck here."

"Just call your dad and tell him that it broke down."

Troy whipped out his phone and dialed a number. "_Hey Chad, listen I need your help bro. Come back to the school. Oh, you're with Zeke, great. Have Zeke drop you off. We have some work to do."_

He closed his phone and stuck it back in his pocket. "Gabriella, are you ready to help us out?"

Gabriella gulped, uncertain about what she had gotten herself into.

"What am I doing?" she asked.

"Chad and I are going to push my truck. You're going to steer."

Gabriella panicked. "Troy I don't even have my driver's license renewed in New Mexico yet. What if we get in trouble or something?"

Troy laughed. "Don't worry about it."

After about fifteen minutes of pushing and steering, Troy's truck was safely in front of Gabriella's house. Gabriella was dry. However, Chad and Troy were soaking wet. It had started torrentially down pouring as soon as Chad arrived. Gabriella tried to convince them to just get a ride with Zeke, but both boys would not submit just because of a little rain.

Gabriella felt terrible about having created the circumstances in the first place, but Troy told her that it wasn't her fault. Just as they were about to start pushing again, Gabriella ran back outside from her front door.

"Wait!" She yelled. Both Troy and Chad looked up. Chad looked exhausted, while Troy was smiling. "Take a break. My mom said that the storm is going to be passing. Come inside and get warm."

Both boys practically ran to the front door, stopping to take their shoes and socks off before entering.

"Mom," Gabriella said as she pointed to each of the boys, "this is Troy Bolton and this is Chad—"

"Danforth" Chad blurted.

"—Danforth."

"Well, It's very nice to meet you gentlemen. I'll go bring some towels down from the linen closet. Gabi, I made cookies, they're in the kitchen; help yourselves." Mrs. Montez said sweetly.

Maria Montez went to fetch the towels and Gabriella brought the boys into the kitchen.

"So Gabriella," Chad began, "You're new to East High. How do you like it?"

"Well, it's been an interesting day." Gabriella giggled as she nibbled on an oatmeal raisin cookie. Both Troy and Chad stood there, waiting for Gabriella to finish her thought. "What answer are you looking for?"

"Well, is it the best school yet?" Troy choked out.

Gabriella began to blush. "East High has definitely been the most welcoming school that I've been to. I can't believe that I've actually made friends on the first day."

Troy smiled. "So you are talking to other people. I thought that we were friends."

Once again, Gabriella giggled. "I guess you thought wrong Mr. Bolton, but Chad is pretty cool."

Chad jumped up and gave Gabriella a high five. "Yeah, that's what I like to hear."

The boys ate a few more cookies and dried off with the towels that Ms. Montez brought for them. Soon enough, the rain subsided and the boys decided that it was time to leave.

"Ms. Montez," Troy began.

"Troy, no need to thank me for anything. I'm glad that you boys had the chance to dry off, and thank you for giving Gabriella a ride too."

Troy and Chad nodded their heads, waved goodbye to Gabriella, and made their way out the door and over to Troy's truck.

Ms. Montez closed the door behind them and watched as Gabriella stood there smiling. "So, did you meet them before or after you called me?"

Gabriella blushed and sat down on the couch. Her mother followed suit.

"Well," Gabriella began, "I had English and it was absolutely horrible. I loved the teacher, but we had to do an assignment with partners and everyone knew everyone else and I was stuck by myself and I had an anxiety attack I guess." Ms. Montez contently listened to her daughter's first day experience. "So I went to the bathroom and sat there for the rest of the block. Then a girl came in and she wanted to make sure that I was okay. Her name is Taylor and she was really nice to me. We went to the library during free period and mami, she's like the best friend that I've been waiting for forever. I'm actually going to her house sometime this weekend to hang out, if that's okay with you."

Maria was absolutely speechless. "Mija, I'm so happy that you finally found a girlfriend that you can chat with. That's great! But where did Troy and Chad come from?"

Gabriella laughed. "Well, I was trying to find my way to physics and it was already past the bell and Troy was going to physics too and he took me there because I literally had no idea where I was going. And then I was walking home before and he pulled over and asked me if I needed a ride and I refused at first, but he insisted so I was going to go with him, then his truck wouldn't turn on and I basically told you the rest."

Maria had no clue how to respond to her daughter's first day. "Wow." Was all that she could say before fully gathering her thoughts. "Yes, you can go to Taylor's house, but i'd like to meet her soon as well."

Gabriella smiled, gave her mom a quick hug, then ran upstairs. She wanted to get a head start on her homework, which hadn't actually been assigned yet.

_Soooooo, what do you guys think! I hope you're liking it so far. Please, please, please, PLEASE, review and let me know what you think! I'm very open for suggestions! Happy holidays! _

_~Meg _


	4. Chapter 4

Something New

Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical or anything else.

Chapter 4

When Gabriella woke up on Thursday morning, she had an unusual amount of pep in her step. She decided to dress cute, which was out of the norm for her, considering she usually wanted to blend into her high school surroundings. Gabriella gathered her favorite pair of light wash jeans, a baby blue ¾ sleeved shirt, black flats, and a necklace that her mother had given her for her 17th birthday. It was sterling silver and had three hearts on it; one for her, one for her mom, and one for her father. Gabriella hopped in the bathroom for a quick shower and did her hair. She left her curls down again because she honestly didn't feel like doing it at that point in the morning. Right as she was about to put the finishing touch on her outfit, putting her necklace on, her phone began to vibrate.

There were two unread text messages. The first one was from Taylor. She was reminding Gabriella that she would meet her outside the front doors of the school so that they could go to the library together before school actually started. The second one was from Troy. Gabriella smiled as she opened the message.

"_Got the truck working again… want a ride to school? I promise it won't break down this time."_

Gabriella laughed as she replied to the message. She threw her phone in her back pocket, grabbed her stuff, and headed downstairs.

Maria was eyeing Gabriella as she practically skipped down the stairs towards the kitchen.

"Good morning Mija." She said curiously. "Why so happy?"

Gabriella suddenly noticed her behavior and forcefully toned it down a little. "Am I usually unhappy?"

Maria shook her head. "No, no, no; you just aren't usually this bubbly and happy on a school morning. Do you want some fruit? I just cut it up."

"Sure!" Gabriella replied as she took a seat down at the island counter. Maria handed her the bowl of fruit and stood there observing her daughter.

"Is there something that you'd like to tell me about?"

Gabriella swallowed her strawberry and looked up at her mother. "What would I have to tell you about?"

"Well, yesterday morning you were so glum and now you're excited to go to school."

"Mom, I actually have friends at this school. Why would I not be excited to go?" Tears began to swell up in Maria's eyes. Gabriella saw this and grabbed her mom's hand. "You don't need to cry, Mom. I'm fine."

"I know," Maria said wiping her eyes. "I'm just so happy that you've finally found a school that you adore. I feel terrible about how many moves I've put you through and I'm just so grateful that this one is the last."

A beeping from outside the house interrupted their mother-daughter moment.

"Uhh, Mom I don't need a ride to school today. Troy offered to drive me, if that's okay with you." Gabriella said as she slowly got up and put her empty fruit bowl in the sink.

Maria suspiciously eyed Gabriella before responding. "That's fine, just make sure that you are abiding by all laws and regulations, and be safe."

"I know, I know. Love you Mom." Gabriella said as she opened the door. To her surprise, Troy was standing right outside the door waiting for her. He waved to Ms. Montez before Gabriella closed the front door.

She turned to Troy and smiled. "Why didn't you just wait for me in your truck?"

"I don't know, I guess I wanted to say hi to your mom."

"So you're just using me for my mom Bolton?"

Troy threw his hands up as they made their way down the front walkway. "You've caught me, your mom's cookies are to die for."

"Just wait until you try her brownies." Gabriella said as she reached for the truck door.

Troy successfully started the truck and they made their way to school. The majority of the ride consisted of laughing and joking. It was as if Troy and Gabriella had known each since Kindergarten. However, that changed when they pulled into the East High parking lot. There was a group of cheerleaders standing by the "E" fountain who looked into the truck with angry eyes. Gabriella got quiet and focused on her hands, which were placed in her lap.

Troy looked over at her, confused. "Gabriella, what's wrong?" He said as he put the truck in park and turned it off.

She should have never come to school with him. She should have just walked like yesterday.

Gabriella looked up at Troy and into his bright blue eyes. "They're all staring because you're giving me a ride."

He laughed, which made Gabriella shudder. "Who cares! They can stare all they want. We're friends Gabriella. They're just jealous that I don't want to be friends with them."

"That doesn't change the fact that they're going to hate me for no reason and I really don't want people hating me for no reason."

"Come on, let's get out of this truck." Troy said as he opened the door and walked around to Gabriella's side and opened her door. Gabriella stepped out holding her bag against her chest. "So you don't do well around crowds of people staring?"

"Not exactly." She said, taking a deep breath.

Troy placed his arm over her shoulders. "Let's go then."

Still shocked from Troy's touch, Gabriella nodded and walked in unison with her friend. After what felt like five minutes, they finally arrived at the front doors of East High, where Taylor was waiting with skeptical eyes. Gabriella looked up at Troy and smiled, a subtle thank you, then entered the building with Taylor.

The two girls walked together to Gabriella's locker, Taylor's mind bubbling with questions. Once they reached her locker Gabriella began to put some of her books away.

"So…" Taylor began as she leaned against a set of lockers, "I thought that you didn't like Bolton?" Gabriella continued to put her books away, ignoring Taylor's question, which only aggravated Taylor even more. "Gabriella, you said that you didn't like him."

Gabriella shut her locker and turned to Taylor with pleading eyes. "Can we please talk about this later?"

"Fine, but you better tell me everything." Taylor said, crossing her arms in disbelief.

~~SOMETHING~NEW~~

Once the first block bell rang, signaling that it was free period, Taylor grabbed Gabriella's arm and practically dragged her to the library. They got a table towards the back and put their stuff down.

"Taylor, when I meant later I didn't mean in the library right now." Gabriella said as she opened her AP English notebook and began writing the thesis for the paper that they were assigned.

Taylor pulled her chair closer to Gabriella and closed her notebook. "This is serious. Have you ever had a boyfriend before?"

"Uh, yeah." Gabriella said without any confidence.

Taylor shook her head. "It's alright, me neither. And I don't plan on involving myself in any relationships in high school. I don't want you to make the same mistake."

"I don't like Troy like that."

Taylor laughed. "Are you sure?"

Gabriella put her head in her hands and let out a huge sigh. "I don't know. He's too nice to me."

"Clearly." Taylor said, rolling her eyes.

"I mean, he offered to give me a ride home yesterday and then his truck wouldn't start so I steered and him and Chad pushed it in the rain. Then they dropped me off and they were soaked so I invited them in my house to dry off. Then this morning he asked me if I needed a ride and we were talking as if we've known each other since Kindergarten."

"But why was his arm around you when I saw you this morning?"

"I really hate when people stare at me and all of those cheerleaders were just—"

"Staring." Taylor interrupted.

"Why do you want to know all of this anyway?" Gabriella asked, putting her head back into her hands.

"It's weird seeing Bolton act this way around anyone. I've known him for a long time and he usually goes for the cheerleaders and dumb broads. Maybe because his last breakup was so bad he finally got smart and decided to stop going out with the girls who want him."

"Taylor, I really think that we're just friends."

"A friend who is a girl and is intelligent and isn't a dumb broad and isn't one of the basketball boys."

At just the right time, the bell sounded signaling the end of free period.

"Have fun in Physics with him." Taylor said laughing.

Shaking her head, Gabriella picked up her books and walked away from the table, yelling back to Taylor "We're just friends."

A/N: The New Year is just around the corner! Hope everyone had a happy holiday! Let me know what you thought of this chapter! I'm open to suggestions, so let me know what you want to happen!

~Meg :)


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